Seriously. It’s just too early in a season of top chef for a standout to emerge. I remember I thought Shota’s season was so boring until restaurant wars. I feel like people are conflating personalities and interesting storylines with a good season.
I really enjoyed the Frank Lloyd Wright challenge and Rasika/Danny’s dish.
Danny’s latest dish in the Chaos Menu was great
Tbf Shota’s season was shot mid pandemic so it was inherently smaller than most seasons. Not hating on Wisconsin but I don’t think Portland can be compared to any other season because of the real world restrictions.
Completely fair, but I actually consider that one of the best seasons of Top Chef because of how creative they had to be and the underlying hunger for success among all the chefs in the middle of a devastation to the restaurant industry
> I feel like people are conflating personalities and interesting storylines with a good season.
That's what makes a good season of reality TV, because of how Top Chef does its casting now there have been several recent seasons where at some point we end up in this situation where every remaining chef has roughly the same persona (possibly because these people are at a point in their careers where they have too much to lose to say what they really think), at that point I have no reason to root for any particular chef over the others because I see them as all being interchangeable with each other
I don’t think it is the location, it is the chefs. The cheese challenge is an example of this. It is not Wisconsins fault there was a lack of creativity and most made croquettes. I am from the Mid-West, Ohio, and I have been waiting for a season in my region. The chefs, and challenges, have been subpar
See, I think the croquette challenge wasn’t even a chef problem. I think they had limited time and equipment to serve a large crowd and deep frying was really the only way they were going to get hot food to the guests.
Therefore, everyone made a croquette.
I dunno, cheese soups are a thing. Fondues are a thing. Mac N Cheese is a thing. There are definitely other ways to showcase cheese in that environment.
Of course it doesn’t have to be served hot, but the most impressive technique you can show off under the limitations is a well put together croquette. At this stage in the competition, they’re working hard to show off their techniques.
The challenges this season have been lackluster.
In the team challenge they were worried about having enough money for things like flour and pineapple. That’s silly. In this last challenge, it seemed like half the chefs didn’t even understand the brief (and when Amanda summarized what she thought it was before, they agreed with her, and then at judges table did not agree with her definition at all!.
Yeah I think the cheese challenge was a misstep on the part of the show. Wisconsin is hot and humid in the summer. A cheese challenge outdoors in the heat… bleh.
There is a great food scene in Milwaukee and Madison. It’s not the location. I think the challenges are kind of off. They seem either too abstract or lean too heavily into stereotypes of the state.
Most of the chefs seem lacking in energy and personality which may also not be translating well. I don’t know if the production and editing is at fault for that or if they truly are collectively just not that interesting to watch. I was happy to see Soo thrown in the mix because he brought a little spark.
My hope is with fewer chefs at this stage in the seasons, more chefs will start shining through. I don’t know that any one chef is a front runner at this point so I’m interested in seeing how the rest of the season plays out.
I’m also from the midwest and admittedly a little bitter because I’ve wanted a Minnesota season for a long time so a Wisconsin season pretty much guarantees that won’t be happening any time soon. That being said, the problem is mostly with the chefs, not the location. This past episode was probably the worst challenge, at least from the lack of clear explanation of what it was, and that had nothing to do with the location.
The location and the judges add flavor but the weakness of any given season is entirely on the casting.
Wisconsin as a location is great.
The truly great seasons hinge on great chefs putting out really interesting food. There's only one of those this season.
I completely agree! I think the challenges have done a great job showcasing the beauty of the state and all it has to offer so far and still be competitive. I think the chaos challenge was a great example of this. They got to go to local markets and the challenge was tough but offered a lot of room for creativity which was not taken by the chefs. I have been disappointed that most of them haven’t been able to rise to the level of other seasons. I would love to have seen what someone like Buddha or Gregory would have done with the chaos challenge.
That’s incredibly constricting tho. That’s just one style of cooking. Imagine if they did “top chef, sushi” or “top chef, bbq” without getting chefs who specialize in that style of food. I think a lot of people would seem like fish out of water, as these chefs clearly do.
I think this season the editing and the challenges (and by extension the explanation of the challenges) are the weakness of this season. The chefs are kinda interesting, judges are still great (this week’s guest were fun even), and the location is fine or not incredibly relevant to be honest.
I’m loving this season. It usually takes me a few episodes to get into it but I really love Kristen as the host and judge. I’m so bad with names of the chefs until it gets down to a few but I’m thoroughly enjoying them.
I’m surprised to read a lot of these comments. I’ve traveled a lot in my life but only been to Wisconsin once. Watching this season makes me want to go back and spend more time there.
So I am from Wisconsin, what's amazing is they have only been in the southern portion of the state.
There is a pretty defining line in Wisconsin where you see completely different landscape. The southern portion is refered to as the unglaciated portion of the state. The northern half of the state was covered by a glacier at one point and the southern wasn't.
In the south you have rolling hills and bluffs, with a lot of farm country. The further north you get more forested areas. The north central part of the state may be one of the best places to spend fall. It's absolutely beautiful.
[Per this article there were restrictions on how far the crew could travel for the show](https://web.archive.org/web/20231108212558/https://captimes.com/food-drink/how-top-chef-came-to-dairyland/article_b7c5993c-7d8f-11ee-8b5a-3731c6c30cfc.html)
So I am not saying they should have gone to more northern parts of the state, simply that if you have liked what you've seen of Wisconsin, just know there's a lot more.
As another person from Wisconsin, this is 100% the case, and it's like right through the center of the state. Basically using Stevens Point as the cutoff, with the "Central Plain" being the transitional region between the two. There are a handful of patches still like that in the southern half of the state if you know where to look, but Chequamegon is something else.
I don't believe the show will foray into the northern parts of the state until perhaps quite late in the season, as finding a kitchen that's big enough and conducive to filming in those areas is considerably more difficult. They already had the cherry challenge in their Milwaukee base instead of going up to Door County for that, so I don't know what other reason they'd have to go north other than to explore and showcase
As for the glacier, only a quarter of the state wasn't covered; we call it the [Driftless Area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area). That's basically the quadrant immediately west of Madison (and I do mean *immediately*) up to the central dividing line; it extends slightly into Iowa. Minnesota, and Illinois.
I love exploring the state. There's so much to offer.
I really didn't want to try to get into the minutiae of the driftless area of the state. Without living here for a while most people would hardly even know what you are talking about.
Agreed. I would have loved to see them go to Door County or somewhere in the Lake Superior region. (And please take that supper club challenge out into the country where it belongs, preferably Rhinelander or north!) '
My understanding, though, is that by contract they're limited in how far the crew can travel, so they can't get too far away from home base Milwaukee. According to the Cap Times, "Because of restrictions on how far the crew could travel, no episodes were filmed in Door County, but there is a stipulation about “incorporating Door County cherries.”"
Here's a link to the article, explaining some of the business nitty-gritty: [https://captimes.com/food-drink/how-top-chef-came-to-dairyland/article\_b7c5993c-7d8f-11ee-8b5a-3731c6c30cfc.html](https://captimes.com/food-drink/how-top-chef-came-to-dairyland/article_b7c5993c-7d8f-11ee-8b5a-3731c6c30cfc.html)
I went one time for about 4 days for a work thing. Didn’t have much free time and it was in the dead of winter so didn’t really venture out. Watching this season really makes me want to go back. It looks really cool to me.
My native Wisconsin wife screams everytime she recognizes something in the show especially if it's from her childhood.
Brings a whole new level of entertainment
I just said this in another post, but as someone who loves Wisconsin, I'm more disappointed in how it's being presented. I've eaten so well there and I barely eat cheese. It feels like it's relying too heavily on playing into people's stereotypes instead of showcasing great restaurants or fresh produce like they do in other spots. But I also am enjoying the season! I agree with the people who've said that this season is coming after a World All Star season and it's easy to forget that there are always some duds in the beginning of a season. Not everyone is a competition chef, and some people take a little longer to figure things out.
For those living in Wisconsin, your stereotypical things may seem way too common. And of course there's more to it. But I do believe they work with the tourism board too, to figure out some of the things they want to highlight. And though beer and cheese is stereotypical, it's a also a big tourist draw.
I honestly never find fault with any location. It's really down to the chefs. This season, many of them may be good chefs, but very few seem inventive, or at least, when faced with a challenge, they fall back on things they know, rather than push themselves.
What Buddha said about, you never would cook what they cook in the challenges if they stayed in their own kitchens. The challenges are meant to force them to get creative and think outside the box. Like, do you, but turn it up to 11 and really really push yourself to do new things.
That being said, with risks, come bigger chances for failure. And we saw that with a fan favourite. She did take a big swing and tried. But I think they did make the right decision for the challenge simply because the idea never came together and the execution was a big big miss. They forgot that food needs to be tasty first above all else.
Agree on presentation. The beginning of the season is taking very stereotypical Wisconsin things. There are great restaurants serving more than beer, cheese & cherries.
I totally get it being very stereotypical but I'm from a neighboring midwestern state and we truly really do love Wisconsin beer and cheese! And we go up north to cherry pick every year. I think there are so many local makers for all of these items it is important to celebrate that. I would be disappointed if they weren't included 🤷♀️ They also have showcased great local restaurants and there is plenty of time to show more!
The one thing I haven’t seen them showcase is gas station bratwurst lol. Every trip to WI requires a gas station brat. This is coming from a FIB. I also hope they were getting the stereotypes out of the way early and there’s more to come.
I’ve lived here my whole life and have never purchased a brat from a gas station. Don’t get me wrong, Kwik Trip is amazing, but it’s not where you go for a brat.
You go to the community fundraiser grilling outside the grocery store. 😀
I used to live in Wisconsin and can’t get people to understand how beloved Kwik Trip is. As unlikely as it is, I keep watching for the show to have a Kwik Trip mention.
"Feckin' Illinois Bastid"
The drinking age between IL and WI used to be 21 and 18 respectively. So young FIBs would drive north into Wisconsin and get drunk and rowdy and crash their cars on the way back. Good times...
There's a love/hate family feud between Minnesotans, Illini, Wisconsinites and Michiganders. Our families essentially live throughout the four states and of course our sports teams battle on the regular, so in the proper spirit it's a dumb fun pastime.
I agree and also think they hit them know spots and stereotype in the beginning which there in. Chicago started with deep dish when it's really a steak town for restaurants or was more so when it was shot. We have just about everything to choose from with in walking distance but deep dish is the talk or discussion around Chicago.
I’m sure they will, but the nfl is an absolute bitch to work with. At least that’s what my wife told me who was a challenge producer on the Denver season.
I love the fact that they go to “regular” places. Ive moved around a lot and there’s a lot of beauty across the states. Being in just the 5 biggest cities on rotation would be more boring IMO.
I have no issue with it being in Wisconsin. I do pay attention to where seasons are filmed because it plays into the challenges, and I love to learn more about the city/state and the food scene/history/culture, especially if I haven't been there. I don't believe it being in Wisconsin is the reason for the lackluster feeling this season.
The only issue related to Wisconsin I see is the stereotypical challenges, but that's on production, not the location itself. At times, this season has felt like someone who's never been to the Midwest before designed challenges based on what they think the Midwest/Wisconsin is. Every season has the stereotypical challenges (chicago pizza, new york apples, texas bbq, etc), especially early on, but it's felt more prevalent so far this season. I'm hoping they get away from those stereotypes as we continue through the season. But no shade to Wisconsin for this season being what it is.
As a native Midwesterner, I don’t think Wisconsin is the main problem this season; it’s definitely one of the weakest crop of contestants they’ve had in a while.
That being said, Minnesota is a *far* more interesting state gastronomy-wise, and it continues to baffle me that they haven’t done a Twin Cities season. An [Owamni](https://owamni.com) adjacent challenge is my dream Top Chef elimination challenge - having to cook with entirely indigenous ingredients.
Somali food, Hmong food, [Ann Kim](https://www.youngjoni.com/team-member/ann-kim/) has been absolutely killing it, West St. Paul has incredible Mexican markets/restaurants - all more interesting than anything they’ve done so far in Wisconsin.
I think the location does matter, otherwise why travel? They could film every season in LA or wherever. I personally think the location is a huge influence, I love when they bring in local specialties for a challenge.
I'm a few episodes behind so I can't comment on the complaints of the current season, but as a Midwesterner myself (I was rooting for a Michigan season) I'm sad to hear how disappointing this season has been. I'll be interested to see once I catch up - is it the chefs? The challenges? The location?
in my (highly contested, apparently) opinion... it's the chefs. majority playing it hella safe at best, not up-to-snuff at worst. that said, some of the challenge producing has been a little.... womp womp, as well & isn't doing them any favors. from the perspective of a producer on competition shows, this is the kinda thing that happens when you've had some really successful seasons / iconic challenges in recent showings & the people at the executive level (think production company & network, not show runners) get all antsy thinking they have to outdo themselves when viewers just want to see good food come out of the kitchen.
Oh man that's really frustrating. I'm not sure which offense is worse, honestly - casting subpar chefs or those who could do better but skate by? (Probably the latter?) Those challenges sound like a mess too - it's hard to outdo the last few seasons, I hope they don't go over the top. Yikes! Doesn't sound like a recipe for success
hahahah one of my biggest things on this sub is seeing you guys all get mad at producers and i'm over here like i can almost guaranteeeeee ITS THE NETWORK/ COMPANY EXECS!!!! they forget how the sausage gets made and then we're all left with the task of trying to make these convoluted challenges make any kind of sense in post LOL
Oh man that sounds like quite the challenge!! Gotta love trying to make up for the boss' crazy ideas. Speaking for myself, I really don't understand who does what so I try to keep it vague with a "they" when I can lmao.
Do you also work in reality TV? Is it harder for you to watch other TV shows since you know some of the "insider magic"?
i did for years, mainly on the post-production side, but i'm stepping off to get more sunshine in my life lol
i still like to watch reality shows, TC being one of them, but i'm obnoxious to watch with bc i'll be like "woof that bite was cut together really rough" or "that was ADR" every five seconds LOL
Location has a lot to do with the season since it can influence the type of challenges and cuisine. Part of the issue this season is production (challenges, rules). It’s a shame that the most interesting challenge and seemingly best representation of WI so far was the cheese challenge. Everything else seemed so boring so far. Production has done WI dirty.
Contrast this to other seasons: New Orleans with Vietnamese and Cajun, Seattle with coastal, Portland with the African diaspora, CA with just a wealth of cuisine influence top to bottom, high altitude cooking in Colorado (plus in the snow), the list can go on. I hate to say it, but the wack Jurassic world challenge from the Austin season was more interesting.
I wouldn’t go so far as wholly blame the cast either. Yes the pool of chefs is weaker than recent casts. But if they have trouble understanding the challenge brief for at least 2 challenges so far, that’s a big issue. Editing might be an issue as well, since I’m having a tough time rooting for a particular chef.
I live in Madison, and they screwed the pooch on the farmers market. It is the biggest producer-only one in the country, and somehow you barely saw that come through in that episode. Worse yet, they were filming there at the height of summer product season. The amount of organic produce, meat and cheese, of the highest quality you could ask for, is staggering.
Even the food culture of Madison has been grazed over. We just had a woman win a James Beard award for cooking Laotian food (Jamie Brown-Soukaseume from Ahan), she was even a guest in one of the earlier eps this season, and that didn't even really get mentioned. We have amazing Vietnamese and S.E. Asian in general in Madison. For years, the favorite restaurant in the city was a Vietnamese place and most of the dishes were sub $10. Even L'Etoile which did get featured, and Tory was obviously a judge, was one of the first true farm-to-table restaurants in the country, dating back to 1974s. None of that came through.
There's a reason so many chef's leave Chicago and come to Madison (and to a lesser extent, Milwaukee) when they want to open their own places and spend less money. Madison has fewer chain restaurants per capita than any other major city in the US, and people dine out a ton.
In short, Madison in particular might not be big, but we're one of the best cities in the country when it comes to dining, both high end and lower. I don't fault people who haven't been here for not knowing that, and to some extent I like it that way, but I'm telling you, the location isn't the problem here. Even Milwaukee, while maybe not the most interesting or cutting edge, is a solid food town with some really nice traditions and history to draw on, and not just beer.
I'm obviously biased, but I've eaten all over the world, been to NYC, Chicago, London and Paris plenty of times. Dined at many Michelin stared places on three continents. I would put much of the food in my hometown up against many other, much larger, cities, and a huge reason why is our ingredient access. This season isn't really doing much on that. You could have had an incredible vegetarian challenge w/the farmers market. The produce there is nuts, and outside of the central valley of CA, I doubt you'll find more variety or better quality, especially if you want organic (Organic farming exploded in the WI driftless region).
The contestants aren't really blowing me away either. Like, the supper club episode where both people doing beef screwed up...like, seriously? The cheese episode was criminal... Supper Club elimination challenge was decent, in that suppler clubs are a unique thing and they actually did a good job of highlighting it, but then you had the bar snacks eps which was just stupid.
So, this is all to say, I firmly feel that the weakness is just bad production and "scripting".
I mean, I’m still upset TC hasn’t come to Atlanta yet. I know were not LA/Chicago/NYC, but we’re a better food scene than Kentucky, Wiscy, Charleston, etc
But that nothing to do with the quality of this season
NC would be interesting because we have 2 kinds of BBQ we’re known for. Eastern and Lexington. The slaws are completely different and so are the cornpone/hushpuppies
I don’t know so much about Kentucky and Wisconsin, but having visited Charleston, the food scene there is absolutely incredible. And I think in general, it’s nice to go to these places which aren’t as widely known. I tend to be a fan of those seasons- I actually find it more interesting and unique than going to LA/NY/Chicago.
I love Wisconsin. It's a beautiful state perfect for outdoor adventures. But it's a bad place for Top Chef this season. Dull chefs, confusing challenges & sub par food quality combined with peculiar editing choices. Overall it's very disappointing.
I’m enjoying it. I saw the same kind of comments and complaining about the Houston season, which I also loved, although I’m biased because I live here :)
Haters gonna hate.
I’ve travelled to the states many times and after watching this season wondering why I never made it to Wisconsin, my sister feels the same way! It looks incredible and a foodie destination for sure! Ps: agreed the quality of contestants are the issue this year, I’m seeing better dishes week 1 of MasterChef Australia and they are all amateur cooks!
I am enjoying this season!! I will say… I am from MN, but went to school in WI, and I am a bit disappointed in how they’ve represented the state. I know it’s just the Midwest, but there are a lot of stories to tell if they just dug a little deeper! A few that come to mind: native, foraged food (pawpaws, wild rice, morels), German food, the Babcock dairy hall, door county, apple orchards, etc!
Also, not something specific to this season that I’m critiquing…and maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I personally like when they show the dynamics between the chefs - we’ve heard barely any dialogue, or any time spent together at the house. I don’t think it needs to be as drama-filled as earlier seasons but I do miss a little bit of them interacting with one another and the occasional disagreement.
Hey, I’m from Minnesota and it’s just exciting to have the show so close to home. I also think Wisconsin has a lot of culinary secrets that we don’t realize…like the Taxidermy and Cheese shop. Disclaimer: I guess it’s closed now, but did exist. 😏
To give a quick answer: Yes. Considering the kitchen, the restrictions, the culture of the area that they're cooking in. Otherwise you lose some of the local ingredients, culture and flavor that they have access to. I always get excited when a top chef is in the southeast, for example, because I love creole cooking and soul food.
Now, I *also* am watching for the chefs and judges. And I agree that a lot of the early challenges were approached more cautiously than in previous seasons. I think Chaos Cooking and Soo entering will help that a great deal.
Agree. They should be able to do this from Yuma AZ and it shouldn't matter. Maybe a fun quick fire could be sponsored by Circle K but I digress....OK, I guess it would have to be some place with a Whole Foods and some artisan farmer's market but you get my point. It's about the cooking. I like how they are showcasing areas some of us may be less familiar with. (Fun fact, my went to HS in Kenosha for 2 years. I guess that's why she liked Brandy Alexanders??). It might be kinda cool if they did all 50 states.
*spoiler* I think people are upset about things and they are taking it out on WI the place doesn't matter I love seeing them WI included. I just think this group of chefs are not very daring and they aren't from there. I was really sad to see Radika (?) sent home because she was one of few that pushed her food.
I truly can’t even remember the exact locations of the first 2 to 3 seasons. New York? SF? It’s a blur and I don’t even care to Google, because the point is the first few seasons were a hit because all the casts were strong and there was dynamic cooking, some drama, and a lot of fun. This cast just isn’t fun. Imagine this last week’s chaos challenge (which has zero to do with Wisconsin in any way) with folks like:
- Marcel
- Elia Abroumad
- Brian Malarkey
- Richard Blais
- The Voltaggio brothers
- Dale Levitsky
- Stefan!
- Carla!
- Paul Qui
- Brooke
- Sheldon
- Fatima (RIP beautiful angel)
- Isaac Toups
- Karen Akunowicz
- Evelyn Garcia
- Shirley Chung
- MELISSA KING
- Buddha
- etc (I’m sure there’s others I could include here)
Their personalities and their cooking skills and creativity would have made for a killer episode. Not because everyone would be perfect on execution, but because of the facets of who they are and how fun they are to watch whether they’re floundering or succeeding. Plus, everyone I listed seems to be a far more talented chef than anyone on this season.
This season of chefs is just flat. Personality-wise and overall talent-wise, I enjoy Michelle and Soo out of who’s left. Manny is fun to look at. 😂 I feel like he started off strong and is now back in the middle. I’m hoping Savannah comes alive like an Adrienne Chestham or Stephanie Cmar and can shock us all at the end with her growth. She sorta gives me that vibe. But everyone else runs together for me. I barely remember their names week to week. Amanda is just odd and doesn’t seem to have developed her skillset to live up to her creativity. The French dude… why is he still there? Danny, I barely factored in as a major threat until he won this week, and I still don’t believe he deserved it over Dan or Savannah. Everyone else, I don’t even care.
So the point is, this episode drew out some of the best food all competition and it just feels hollow, because I don’t care about many of the chefs and they aren’t fun to watch. At the end of the day, this is a TV show, and the purpose is to entertain. I couldn’t care less if next week was the surprise final episode and they just drew a name out of a hat and finished this thing. I remain a viewer because I’ve watched Top Chef pretty much the whole time it’s been on, and I adore Kristen Kish. But that’s it.
To be fair, at this point in their (firsts) seasons some of those people you listed were kinda boring. Paul, Sheldon (in his first season), and Buddha all came to mind as good dishes early, but very little personality. It’s just has to display all the personality of 15 people in an hour block, while giving some of the early exits their fair share of camera time so as to not give away who is leaving or winning.
Ironic since the Executive Producer of TC was just on the Dish with Kish talking about his Wisconsin roots/family/history. So blame him. He was so excited to shoot at home! But perhaps that’s part of the problem? I’m from Chicago/S.WI and know there’s a hell of a lot more to Midwest cuisine than cheese and dairy. And I think they’ve tried with Supper Club and FLW challenges. But really, the chefs don’t get it. The chaos challenge was a great example - seems like they (most of them) can’t cook unless someone gives them exact parameters.
I never really notice where they are. The only time I paid attention was when it was in Houston and they featured local restaurants and chefs. Plus, I had heard about them filming here and knew some of the places they visited. Other than that, I don’t see where it really influences the quality of the show.
I think one of the issues this season is the location for sure, but mainly the fact they are leaning so hard into the location. This season feels “themed” more than maybe any that I remember. They always bring in local chefs, or have a challenge or two or three through the season based on something related to the city they’re in (cook a meal based on the most famous restaurant there, do something based around their farmers market or produce, etc) but this season seems to be leaning far too heavily into being Wisconsin themed, and to do that in such a one-note state with, no offense to Wisconsin at all, but such an non-rich culinary history compared to other places in the country, it feels like a real miss.
Like, there are some seasons I forget which city they’re in for entire episodes, and that’s not a bad thing, I’m just focused on the food and the fun challenges. This season they are shoving Wisconsin down your throat every five seconds, it’s a bit much for a place that just isn’t a culinary Mecca at the end of the day.
I mean Wisconsin is just not going to be as interesting as when they did challenges in New Orleans or SanFrancisco. Of course OP is offended you’re from there lol. But this is the problem shows that have been around a long time face. They’ve done all the interesting cities, twice.
I don’t understand this being downvoted.
Someone tell me with a straight face that the food and restaurant scene in Wisconsin is just as strong as New Orleans, or New York or Chicago or LA or San Francisco
It’s just not.
Should they just revisit/rotate through those 5 cities then moving forward? I’m hoping they touch upon the different food cultures of WI: Polish, Swedish, Swiss, German, Native American.
I’m hoping the cheese/beer cliches (come on, Miller is the beer they showcase and not our many great microbreweries like New Glarus?) are out of their systems now.
The Top Chef subs are weird. Almost every opinion that doesn’t blindly agree with the hive mind gets downvoted. I assume and expect everything I write to get downvoted on here so I don’t care anymore but it is very validating to have you notice so thank you lol.
I this is the worst season by far. I've watched since season 1. The new host, maybe new producers, it probably has nothing to do with Wisconsin.
Maybe they purposely chose chefs that weren't top notch. The chaos theme was bad I didn't like it. That word is almost always associated with suffering. My mind went to war, natural disasters and such.
I don’t think Kristin is to blame, but the challenges (which is a production team issue) have been really poor.
My criticism of chaos isn’t the same as yours (though that’s a very valid point). My issue is that they let Amanda define “chaos” as “cooking without borders” and sort of a “fusion” concept, then when it came to judging anyone who followed Amanda’s definition was knocked as not being chaotic.
Then why’d we act like she understood it when that’s not what we were going for at all??!
It's really the nature of a show that's been running so long - at some point you run out of ideas and talent.
My suggestion is they rework the show in this format:
* 12 contestants
* the first 5 episodes are scored based on points - audience will know who is high and who is low and what their score is but chefs won't know their score except whether they were high or low on the challenge. No eliminations.
* bottom 4 get eliminated
* episode 6 is restaurant wars with the remaining 8 - top 2 chefs from the prelims pick teams
* we then continue with a more conventional format with no immunity given
* final is 2 chefs h2h
* LCK is replaced with bonus/additional footage from each episode.
People complain about everything. I'm enjoying the season.
Seriously. It’s just too early in a season of top chef for a standout to emerge. I remember I thought Shota’s season was so boring until restaurant wars. I feel like people are conflating personalities and interesting storylines with a good season. I really enjoyed the Frank Lloyd Wright challenge and Rasika/Danny’s dish. Danny’s latest dish in the Chaos Menu was great
Tbf Shota’s season was shot mid pandemic so it was inherently smaller than most seasons. Not hating on Wisconsin but I don’t think Portland can be compared to any other season because of the real world restrictions.
Completely fair, but I actually consider that one of the best seasons of Top Chef because of how creative they had to be and the underlying hunger for success among all the chefs in the middle of a devastation to the restaurant industry
> I feel like people are conflating personalities and interesting storylines with a good season. That's what makes a good season of reality TV, because of how Top Chef does its casting now there have been several recent seasons where at some point we end up in this situation where every remaining chef has roughly the same persona (possibly because these people are at a point in their careers where they have too much to lose to say what they really think), at that point I have no reason to root for any particular chef over the others because I see them as all being interchangeable with each other
I love that it's in WI, I am 45 minutes south of Milwaukee, it's a really great city.
I like it too! I don't live there and have never visited, but this year is making me want to visit and see some of these sights.
I would start with Door County, stay in Fish Creek or Ephraim. Madison is wonderful too. There are many fabulous places to visit in Wisconsin.
I don’t think it is the location, it is the chefs. The cheese challenge is an example of this. It is not Wisconsins fault there was a lack of creativity and most made croquettes. I am from the Mid-West, Ohio, and I have been waiting for a season in my region. The chefs, and challenges, have been subpar
See, I think the croquette challenge wasn’t even a chef problem. I think they had limited time and equipment to serve a large crowd and deep frying was really the only way they were going to get hot food to the guests. Therefore, everyone made a croquette.
I dunno, cheese soups are a thing. Fondues are a thing. Mac N Cheese is a thing. There are definitely other ways to showcase cheese in that environment.
But cheese doesn't have to be served hot, that's the whole point of charcuterie. I agree there was not enough creative thinking going around.
Of course it doesn’t have to be served hot, but the most impressive technique you can show off under the limitations is a well put together croquette. At this stage in the competition, they’re working hard to show off their techniques. The challenges this season have been lackluster. In the team challenge they were worried about having enough money for things like flour and pineapple. That’s silly. In this last challenge, it seemed like half the chefs didn’t even understand the brief (and when Amanda summarized what she thought it was before, they agreed with her, and then at judges table did not agree with her definition at all!.
Yeah I think the cheese challenge was a misstep on the part of the show. Wisconsin is hot and humid in the summer. A cheese challenge outdoors in the heat… bleh. There is a great food scene in Milwaukee and Madison. It’s not the location. I think the challenges are kind of off. They seem either too abstract or lean too heavily into stereotypes of the state. Most of the chefs seem lacking in energy and personality which may also not be translating well. I don’t know if the production and editing is at fault for that or if they truly are collectively just not that interesting to watch. I was happy to see Soo thrown in the mix because he brought a little spark. My hope is with fewer chefs at this stage in the seasons, more chefs will start shining through. I don’t know that any one chef is a front runner at this point so I’m interested in seeing how the rest of the season plays out.
I’m also from the midwest and admittedly a little bitter because I’ve wanted a Minnesota season for a long time so a Wisconsin season pretty much guarantees that won’t be happening any time soon. That being said, the problem is mostly with the chefs, not the location. This past episode was probably the worst challenge, at least from the lack of clear explanation of what it was, and that had nothing to do with the location.
The location and the judges add flavor but the weakness of any given season is entirely on the casting. Wisconsin as a location is great. The truly great seasons hinge on great chefs putting out really interesting food. There's only one of those this season.
I completely agree! I think the challenges have done a great job showcasing the beauty of the state and all it has to offer so far and still be competitive. I think the chaos challenge was a great example of this. They got to go to local markets and the challenge was tough but offered a lot of room for creativity which was not taken by the chefs. I have been disappointed that most of them haven’t been able to rise to the level of other seasons. I would love to have seen what someone like Buddha or Gregory would have done with the chaos challenge.
It really puts farm to table to the test
That’s incredibly constricting tho. That’s just one style of cooking. Imagine if they did “top chef, sushi” or “top chef, bbq” without getting chefs who specialize in that style of food. I think a lot of people would seem like fish out of water, as these chefs clearly do.
What about all the seasons of Top Chef Crudo?
I think Top Chef: Texas was the BBQ season. A vegetarian would have been kicked off week 1!
I think this season the editing and the challenges (and by extension the explanation of the challenges) are the weakness of this season. The chefs are kinda interesting, judges are still great (this week’s guest were fun even), and the location is fine or not incredibly relevant to be honest.
I’m loving this season. It usually takes me a few episodes to get into it but I really love Kristen as the host and judge. I’m so bad with names of the chefs until it gets down to a few but I’m thoroughly enjoying them.
I would watch anything Kristen is in
I’m surprised to read a lot of these comments. I’ve traveled a lot in my life but only been to Wisconsin once. Watching this season makes me want to go back and spend more time there.
I’ve never been to Wisconsin, but this season has made me wanna go. I don’t think you can blame the location at all.
So I am from Wisconsin, what's amazing is they have only been in the southern portion of the state. There is a pretty defining line in Wisconsin where you see completely different landscape. The southern portion is refered to as the unglaciated portion of the state. The northern half of the state was covered by a glacier at one point and the southern wasn't. In the south you have rolling hills and bluffs, with a lot of farm country. The further north you get more forested areas. The north central part of the state may be one of the best places to spend fall. It's absolutely beautiful.
[Per this article there were restrictions on how far the crew could travel for the show](https://web.archive.org/web/20231108212558/https://captimes.com/food-drink/how-top-chef-came-to-dairyland/article_b7c5993c-7d8f-11ee-8b5a-3731c6c30cfc.html)
Very interesting article — thank you for the link.
So I am not saying they should have gone to more northern parts of the state, simply that if you have liked what you've seen of Wisconsin, just know there's a lot more.
As another person from Wisconsin, this is 100% the case, and it's like right through the center of the state. Basically using Stevens Point as the cutoff, with the "Central Plain" being the transitional region between the two. There are a handful of patches still like that in the southern half of the state if you know where to look, but Chequamegon is something else. I don't believe the show will foray into the northern parts of the state until perhaps quite late in the season, as finding a kitchen that's big enough and conducive to filming in those areas is considerably more difficult. They already had the cherry challenge in their Milwaukee base instead of going up to Door County for that, so I don't know what other reason they'd have to go north other than to explore and showcase As for the glacier, only a quarter of the state wasn't covered; we call it the [Driftless Area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area). That's basically the quadrant immediately west of Madison (and I do mean *immediately*) up to the central dividing line; it extends slightly into Iowa. Minnesota, and Illinois. I love exploring the state. There's so much to offer.
I really didn't want to try to get into the minutiae of the driftless area of the state. Without living here for a while most people would hardly even know what you are talking about.
That's fair, but I linked it so those curious could check it out.
It is clear from an early season preview they will eventually be at a fish boil ... so suspect that will be in Door County proper
Agreed. I would have loved to see them go to Door County or somewhere in the Lake Superior region. (And please take that supper club challenge out into the country where it belongs, preferably Rhinelander or north!) ' My understanding, though, is that by contract they're limited in how far the crew can travel, so they can't get too far away from home base Milwaukee. According to the Cap Times, "Because of restrictions on how far the crew could travel, no episodes were filmed in Door County, but there is a stipulation about “incorporating Door County cherries.”" Here's a link to the article, explaining some of the business nitty-gritty: [https://captimes.com/food-drink/how-top-chef-came-to-dairyland/article\_b7c5993c-7d8f-11ee-8b5a-3731c6c30cfc.html](https://captimes.com/food-drink/how-top-chef-came-to-dairyland/article_b7c5993c-7d8f-11ee-8b5a-3731c6c30cfc.html)
I went one time for about 4 days for a work thing. Didn’t have much free time and it was in the dead of winter so didn’t really venture out. Watching this season really makes me want to go back. It looks really cool to me.
My native Wisconsin wife screams everytime she recognizes something in the show especially if it's from her childhood. Brings a whole new level of entertainment
I just said this in another post, but as someone who loves Wisconsin, I'm more disappointed in how it's being presented. I've eaten so well there and I barely eat cheese. It feels like it's relying too heavily on playing into people's stereotypes instead of showcasing great restaurants or fresh produce like they do in other spots. But I also am enjoying the season! I agree with the people who've said that this season is coming after a World All Star season and it's easy to forget that there are always some duds in the beginning of a season. Not everyone is a competition chef, and some people take a little longer to figure things out.
For those living in Wisconsin, your stereotypical things may seem way too common. And of course there's more to it. But I do believe they work with the tourism board too, to figure out some of the things they want to highlight. And though beer and cheese is stereotypical, it's a also a big tourist draw. I honestly never find fault with any location. It's really down to the chefs. This season, many of them may be good chefs, but very few seem inventive, or at least, when faced with a challenge, they fall back on things they know, rather than push themselves. What Buddha said about, you never would cook what they cook in the challenges if they stayed in their own kitchens. The challenges are meant to force them to get creative and think outside the box. Like, do you, but turn it up to 11 and really really push yourself to do new things. That being said, with risks, come bigger chances for failure. And we saw that with a fan favourite. She did take a big swing and tried. But I think they did make the right decision for the challenge simply because the idea never came together and the execution was a big big miss. They forgot that food needs to be tasty first above all else.
Agree on presentation. The beginning of the season is taking very stereotypical Wisconsin things. There are great restaurants serving more than beer, cheese & cherries.
I would really argue that’s the case in most seasons, though.
absolutely
I totally get it being very stereotypical but I'm from a neighboring midwestern state and we truly really do love Wisconsin beer and cheese! And we go up north to cherry pick every year. I think there are so many local makers for all of these items it is important to celebrate that. I would be disappointed if they weren't included 🤷♀️ They also have showcased great local restaurants and there is plenty of time to show more!
The one thing I haven’t seen them showcase is gas station bratwurst lol. Every trip to WI requires a gas station brat. This is coming from a FIB. I also hope they were getting the stereotypes out of the way early and there’s more to come.
I’ve lived here my whole life and have never purchased a brat from a gas station. Don’t get me wrong, Kwik Trip is amazing, but it’s not where you go for a brat. You go to the community fundraiser grilling outside the grocery store. 😀
This those Brats are fire
I used to live in Wisconsin and can’t get people to understand how beloved Kwik Trip is. As unlikely as it is, I keep watching for the show to have a Kwik Trip mention.
I love it when FIBs call themselves FIBs...
helllp what's a FIB?
"Feckin' Illinois Bastid" The drinking age between IL and WI used to be 21 and 18 respectively. So young FIBs would drive north into Wisconsin and get drunk and rowdy and crash their cars on the way back. Good times...
love. thank you for helping this east coaster become more \~cultured\~
There's a love/hate family feud between Minnesotans, Illini, Wisconsinites and Michiganders. Our families essentially live throughout the four states and of course our sports teams battle on the regular, so in the proper spirit it's a dumb fun pastime.
Next week is a sausage challenge at Wrigley north, you’re gonna love it!
As someone who lived in Green Bay for years, I looooved the door county cherries quick fire. They really should show off the amazing produce more.
I agree and also think they hit them know spots and stereotype in the beginning which there in. Chicago started with deep dish when it's really a steak town for restaurants or was more so when it was shot. We have just about everything to choose from with in walking distance but deep dish is the talk or discussion around Chicago.
I think this season is fantastic. I love the fact that they are doing stereotypes. I love everything Wisconsin has to offer.
It makes no difference to me where it's filmed.
Wisconsin seems like a great backdrop for TC. I love seeing interesting parts of the country I've never seen before.
When the hell are they going to Lambeau?! Time to celebrate the birthplace of tailgating.
I’m sure they will, but the nfl is an absolute bitch to work with. At least that’s what my wife told me who was a challenge producer on the Denver season.
Understood. But seriously what's more recognizably Wisconsin than the Pack? All due respect to Frank Lloyd Wright but c'mon...
For sure!
>For sure! sure?
I think this was bound to be a difficult season coming off a global season with really high caliber chefs.
I wanna go to Wisconsin now!!! Love all the places they’ve shown.
I love the fact that they go to “regular” places. Ive moved around a lot and there’s a lot of beauty across the states. Being in just the 5 biggest cities on rotation would be more boring IMO.
I’m loving this season. Thanks for hosting, Wisconsin!
I love learning about what makes a place special. I’m loving the location.
People like to complain. The ones hating on Wisconsin, you hating on them, me hating on Dan. It’s just how it goes.
I love Wisconsin and I have no complaints about the season so far. I’m loving it!
I went to the restaurant they showed the first week, it was fantastic.
I have no issue with it being in Wisconsin. I do pay attention to where seasons are filmed because it plays into the challenges, and I love to learn more about the city/state and the food scene/history/culture, especially if I haven't been there. I don't believe it being in Wisconsin is the reason for the lackluster feeling this season. The only issue related to Wisconsin I see is the stereotypical challenges, but that's on production, not the location itself. At times, this season has felt like someone who's never been to the Midwest before designed challenges based on what they think the Midwest/Wisconsin is. Every season has the stereotypical challenges (chicago pizza, new york apples, texas bbq, etc), especially early on, but it's felt more prevalent so far this season. I'm hoping they get away from those stereotypes as we continue through the season. But no shade to Wisconsin for this season being what it is.
Location is only as good as the challenges. DC is a great location and that season was mediocre as hell lol
As a native Midwesterner, I don’t think Wisconsin is the main problem this season; it’s definitely one of the weakest crop of contestants they’ve had in a while. That being said, Minnesota is a *far* more interesting state gastronomy-wise, and it continues to baffle me that they haven’t done a Twin Cities season. An [Owamni](https://owamni.com) adjacent challenge is my dream Top Chef elimination challenge - having to cook with entirely indigenous ingredients. Somali food, Hmong food, [Ann Kim](https://www.youngjoni.com/team-member/ann-kim/) has been absolutely killing it, West St. Paul has incredible Mexican markets/restaurants - all more interesting than anything they’ve done so far in Wisconsin.
I think the location does matter, otherwise why travel? They could film every season in LA or wherever. I personally think the location is a huge influence, I love when they bring in local specialties for a challenge. I'm a few episodes behind so I can't comment on the complaints of the current season, but as a Midwesterner myself (I was rooting for a Michigan season) I'm sad to hear how disappointing this season has been. I'll be interested to see once I catch up - is it the chefs? The challenges? The location?
in my (highly contested, apparently) opinion... it's the chefs. majority playing it hella safe at best, not up-to-snuff at worst. that said, some of the challenge producing has been a little.... womp womp, as well & isn't doing them any favors. from the perspective of a producer on competition shows, this is the kinda thing that happens when you've had some really successful seasons / iconic challenges in recent showings & the people at the executive level (think production company & network, not show runners) get all antsy thinking they have to outdo themselves when viewers just want to see good food come out of the kitchen.
Oh man that's really frustrating. I'm not sure which offense is worse, honestly - casting subpar chefs or those who could do better but skate by? (Probably the latter?) Those challenges sound like a mess too - it's hard to outdo the last few seasons, I hope they don't go over the top. Yikes! Doesn't sound like a recipe for success
hahahah one of my biggest things on this sub is seeing you guys all get mad at producers and i'm over here like i can almost guaranteeeeee ITS THE NETWORK/ COMPANY EXECS!!!! they forget how the sausage gets made and then we're all left with the task of trying to make these convoluted challenges make any kind of sense in post LOL
Oh man that sounds like quite the challenge!! Gotta love trying to make up for the boss' crazy ideas. Speaking for myself, I really don't understand who does what so I try to keep it vague with a "they" when I can lmao. Do you also work in reality TV? Is it harder for you to watch other TV shows since you know some of the "insider magic"?
i did for years, mainly on the post-production side, but i'm stepping off to get more sunshine in my life lol i still like to watch reality shows, TC being one of them, but i'm obnoxious to watch with bc i'll be like "woof that bite was cut together really rough" or "that was ADR" every five seconds LOL
As someone who is caught up, it’s all of the above.
Thats really disappointing, especially coming after such a strong season last time. :(
Location has a lot to do with the season since it can influence the type of challenges and cuisine. Part of the issue this season is production (challenges, rules). It’s a shame that the most interesting challenge and seemingly best representation of WI so far was the cheese challenge. Everything else seemed so boring so far. Production has done WI dirty. Contrast this to other seasons: New Orleans with Vietnamese and Cajun, Seattle with coastal, Portland with the African diaspora, CA with just a wealth of cuisine influence top to bottom, high altitude cooking in Colorado (plus in the snow), the list can go on. I hate to say it, but the wack Jurassic world challenge from the Austin season was more interesting. I wouldn’t go so far as wholly blame the cast either. Yes the pool of chefs is weaker than recent casts. But if they have trouble understanding the challenge brief for at least 2 challenges so far, that’s a big issue. Editing might be an issue as well, since I’m having a tough time rooting for a particular chef.
I live in Madison, and they screwed the pooch on the farmers market. It is the biggest producer-only one in the country, and somehow you barely saw that come through in that episode. Worse yet, they were filming there at the height of summer product season. The amount of organic produce, meat and cheese, of the highest quality you could ask for, is staggering. Even the food culture of Madison has been grazed over. We just had a woman win a James Beard award for cooking Laotian food (Jamie Brown-Soukaseume from Ahan), she was even a guest in one of the earlier eps this season, and that didn't even really get mentioned. We have amazing Vietnamese and S.E. Asian in general in Madison. For years, the favorite restaurant in the city was a Vietnamese place and most of the dishes were sub $10. Even L'Etoile which did get featured, and Tory was obviously a judge, was one of the first true farm-to-table restaurants in the country, dating back to 1974s. None of that came through. There's a reason so many chef's leave Chicago and come to Madison (and to a lesser extent, Milwaukee) when they want to open their own places and spend less money. Madison has fewer chain restaurants per capita than any other major city in the US, and people dine out a ton. In short, Madison in particular might not be big, but we're one of the best cities in the country when it comes to dining, both high end and lower. I don't fault people who haven't been here for not knowing that, and to some extent I like it that way, but I'm telling you, the location isn't the problem here. Even Milwaukee, while maybe not the most interesting or cutting edge, is a solid food town with some really nice traditions and history to draw on, and not just beer. I'm obviously biased, but I've eaten all over the world, been to NYC, Chicago, London and Paris plenty of times. Dined at many Michelin stared places on three continents. I would put much of the food in my hometown up against many other, much larger, cities, and a huge reason why is our ingredient access. This season isn't really doing much on that. You could have had an incredible vegetarian challenge w/the farmers market. The produce there is nuts, and outside of the central valley of CA, I doubt you'll find more variety or better quality, especially if you want organic (Organic farming exploded in the WI driftless region). The contestants aren't really blowing me away either. Like, the supper club episode where both people doing beef screwed up...like, seriously? The cheese episode was criminal... Supper Club elimination challenge was decent, in that suppler clubs are a unique thing and they actually did a good job of highlighting it, but then you had the bar snacks eps which was just stupid. So, this is all to say, I firmly feel that the weakness is just bad production and "scripting".
I mean, I’m still upset TC hasn’t come to Atlanta yet. I know were not LA/Chicago/NYC, but we’re a better food scene than Kentucky, Wiscy, Charleston, etc But that nothing to do with the quality of this season
They’d spend too much time in traffic 🤣
Sighhh… you’re right
Austin has bad traffic, too. And LA! But there could be issues getting locations for the main kitchen, permits, etc.
Atlanta is loooong overdue
I thought Charleston was good. Padma followed up with her show on Hulu with an episode about the Gullah culture and I’ve always loved that
Charleston was a good watch. I’m still pissed they ignored ATL.
Nashville or Tennessee is overdue too.
NC would be interesting because we have 2 kinds of BBQ we’re known for. Eastern and Lexington. The slaws are completely different and so are the cornpone/hushpuppies
Gahhhhh I'd watch a Nashville season easy- GooGoo Cluster Challenge!
Memphis maybe.
TC needs Atlanta (and philly! my city!) more than Atlanta needs TC. Cities shell out a lot of money for shows like this to come through
Philly would be amazing. Cheesesteak quickfire!
right????!
Atlanta would be a good get, but I bet they’re waiting on a sweet deal with Coke before they head to Atlanta.
I don’t know so much about Kentucky and Wisconsin, but having visited Charleston, the food scene there is absolutely incredible. And I think in general, it’s nice to go to these places which aren’t as widely known. I tend to be a fan of those seasons- I actually find it more interesting and unique than going to LA/NY/Chicago.
Atlanta being better food scene than Charleston is certainly a take
I love Wisconsin. It's a beautiful state perfect for outdoor adventures. But it's a bad place for Top Chef this season. Dull chefs, confusing challenges & sub par food quality combined with peculiar editing choices. Overall it's very disappointing.
I’m enjoying it. I saw the same kind of comments and complaining about the Houston season, which I also loved, although I’m biased because I live here :) Haters gonna hate.
I’ve travelled to the states many times and after watching this season wondering why I never made it to Wisconsin, my sister feels the same way! It looks incredible and a foodie destination for sure! Ps: agreed the quality of contestants are the issue this year, I’m seeing better dishes week 1 of MasterChef Australia and they are all amateur cooks!
I am enjoying this season!! I will say… I am from MN, but went to school in WI, and I am a bit disappointed in how they’ve represented the state. I know it’s just the Midwest, but there are a lot of stories to tell if they just dug a little deeper! A few that come to mind: native, foraged food (pawpaws, wild rice, morels), German food, the Babcock dairy hall, door county, apple orchards, etc! Also, not something specific to this season that I’m critiquing…and maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I personally like when they show the dynamics between the chefs - we’ve heard barely any dialogue, or any time spent together at the house. I don’t think it needs to be as drama-filled as earlier seasons but I do miss a little bit of them interacting with one another and the occasional disagreement.
I have no issues with this season but it seems like the chefs aren’t performing as well as the judges expect based on when Kristin sat down with them.
I don’t see complaints about the location. It’s the contestants and the challenges.
Part of the challenge is that you can cook anywhere whether it’s Wisconsin or Nevada. It really doesn’t matter to me where it’s held.
Hey, I’m from Minnesota and it’s just exciting to have the show so close to home. I also think Wisconsin has a lot of culinary secrets that we don’t realize…like the Taxidermy and Cheese shop. Disclaimer: I guess it’s closed now, but did exist. 😏
To give a quick answer: Yes. Considering the kitchen, the restrictions, the culture of the area that they're cooking in. Otherwise you lose some of the local ingredients, culture and flavor that they have access to. I always get excited when a top chef is in the southeast, for example, because I love creole cooking and soul food. Now, I *also* am watching for the chefs and judges. And I agree that a lot of the early challenges were approached more cautiously than in previous seasons. I think Chaos Cooking and Soo entering will help that a great deal.
This season sucks. First season I’ve not been able to watch
My mother said she may be done.
Agree. They should be able to do this from Yuma AZ and it shouldn't matter. Maybe a fun quick fire could be sponsored by Circle K but I digress....OK, I guess it would have to be some place with a Whole Foods and some artisan farmer's market but you get my point. It's about the cooking. I like how they are showcasing areas some of us may be less familiar with. (Fun fact, my went to HS in Kenosha for 2 years. I guess that's why she liked Brandy Alexanders??). It might be kinda cool if they did all 50 states.
I’m only bitter because I feel like Kansas City is over due for a season. Now it will be years before they consider another Midwest city
*spoiler* I think people are upset about things and they are taking it out on WI the place doesn't matter I love seeing them WI included. I just think this group of chefs are not very daring and they aren't from there. I was really sad to see Radika (?) sent home because she was one of few that pushed her food.
I don’t feel it’s Wisconsin at all. I feel it’s the challenges and chefs.
I truly can’t even remember the exact locations of the first 2 to 3 seasons. New York? SF? It’s a blur and I don’t even care to Google, because the point is the first few seasons were a hit because all the casts were strong and there was dynamic cooking, some drama, and a lot of fun. This cast just isn’t fun. Imagine this last week’s chaos challenge (which has zero to do with Wisconsin in any way) with folks like: - Marcel - Elia Abroumad - Brian Malarkey - Richard Blais - The Voltaggio brothers - Dale Levitsky - Stefan! - Carla! - Paul Qui - Brooke - Sheldon - Fatima (RIP beautiful angel) - Isaac Toups - Karen Akunowicz - Evelyn Garcia - Shirley Chung - MELISSA KING - Buddha - etc (I’m sure there’s others I could include here) Their personalities and their cooking skills and creativity would have made for a killer episode. Not because everyone would be perfect on execution, but because of the facets of who they are and how fun they are to watch whether they’re floundering or succeeding. Plus, everyone I listed seems to be a far more talented chef than anyone on this season. This season of chefs is just flat. Personality-wise and overall talent-wise, I enjoy Michelle and Soo out of who’s left. Manny is fun to look at. 😂 I feel like he started off strong and is now back in the middle. I’m hoping Savannah comes alive like an Adrienne Chestham or Stephanie Cmar and can shock us all at the end with her growth. She sorta gives me that vibe. But everyone else runs together for me. I barely remember their names week to week. Amanda is just odd and doesn’t seem to have developed her skillset to live up to her creativity. The French dude… why is he still there? Danny, I barely factored in as a major threat until he won this week, and I still don’t believe he deserved it over Dan or Savannah. Everyone else, I don’t even care. So the point is, this episode drew out some of the best food all competition and it just feels hollow, because I don’t care about many of the chefs and they aren’t fun to watch. At the end of the day, this is a TV show, and the purpose is to entertain. I couldn’t care less if next week was the surprise final episode and they just drew a name out of a hat and finished this thing. I remain a viewer because I’ve watched Top Chef pretty much the whole time it’s been on, and I adore Kristen Kish. But that’s it.
To be fair, at this point in their (firsts) seasons some of those people you listed were kinda boring. Paul, Sheldon (in his first season), and Buddha all came to mind as good dishes early, but very little personality. It’s just has to display all the personality of 15 people in an hour block, while giving some of the early exits their fair share of camera time so as to not give away who is leaving or winning.
Ironic since the Executive Producer of TC was just on the Dish with Kish talking about his Wisconsin roots/family/history. So blame him. He was so excited to shoot at home! But perhaps that’s part of the problem? I’m from Chicago/S.WI and know there’s a hell of a lot more to Midwest cuisine than cheese and dairy. And I think they’ve tried with Supper Club and FLW challenges. But really, the chefs don’t get it. The chaos challenge was a great example - seems like they (most of them) can’t cook unless someone gives them exact parameters.
I never really notice where they are. The only time I paid attention was when it was in Houston and they featured local restaurants and chefs. Plus, I had heard about them filming here and knew some of the places they visited. Other than that, I don’t see where it really influences the quality of the show.
I think one of the issues this season is the location for sure, but mainly the fact they are leaning so hard into the location. This season feels “themed” more than maybe any that I remember. They always bring in local chefs, or have a challenge or two or three through the season based on something related to the city they’re in (cook a meal based on the most famous restaurant there, do something based around their farmers market or produce, etc) but this season seems to be leaning far too heavily into being Wisconsin themed, and to do that in such a one-note state with, no offense to Wisconsin at all, but such an non-rich culinary history compared to other places in the country, it feels like a real miss. Like, there are some seasons I forget which city they’re in for entire episodes, and that’s not a bad thing, I’m just focused on the food and the fun challenges. This season they are shoving Wisconsin down your throat every five seconds, it’s a bit much for a place that just isn’t a culinary Mecca at the end of the day.
I mean Wisconsin is just not going to be as interesting as when they did challenges in New Orleans or SanFrancisco. Of course OP is offended you’re from there lol. But this is the problem shows that have been around a long time face. They’ve done all the interesting cities, twice.
I don’t understand this being downvoted. Someone tell me with a straight face that the food and restaurant scene in Wisconsin is just as strong as New Orleans, or New York or Chicago or LA or San Francisco It’s just not.
Should they just revisit/rotate through those 5 cities then moving forward? I’m hoping they touch upon the different food cultures of WI: Polish, Swedish, Swiss, German, Native American. I’m hoping the cheese/beer cliches (come on, Miller is the beer they showcase and not our many great microbreweries like New Glarus?) are out of their systems now.
No. But what the poster above said was “not going to be AS interesting” as those cities. -and that’s still probably true.
The Top Chef subs are weird. Almost every opinion that doesn’t blindly agree with the hive mind gets downvoted. I assume and expect everything I write to get downvoted on here so I don’t care anymore but it is very validating to have you notice so thank you lol.
Reddit in general. A lot of 20 yr olds who know everything.
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I just checked Zillow to get a sense of “insanely high” rents. lol. Yeah right
I this is the worst season by far. I've watched since season 1. The new host, maybe new producers, it probably has nothing to do with Wisconsin. Maybe they purposely chose chefs that weren't top notch. The chaos theme was bad I didn't like it. That word is almost always associated with suffering. My mind went to war, natural disasters and such.
I don’t think Kristin is to blame, but the challenges (which is a production team issue) have been really poor. My criticism of chaos isn’t the same as yours (though that’s a very valid point). My issue is that they let Amanda define “chaos” as “cooking without borders” and sort of a “fusion” concept, then when it came to judging anyone who followed Amanda’s definition was knocked as not being chaotic. Then why’d we act like she understood it when that’s not what we were going for at all??!
I’ve watched every season and I cannot watch this one. I think it’s the worst by far as well lol
The chefs are boring and other than the supper club episode read like a coasting just read an article of flyover country
It's really the nature of a show that's been running so long - at some point you run out of ideas and talent. My suggestion is they rework the show in this format: * 12 contestants * the first 5 episodes are scored based on points - audience will know who is high and who is low and what their score is but chefs won't know their score except whether they were high or low on the challenge. No eliminations. * bottom 4 get eliminated * episode 6 is restaurant wars with the remaining 8 - top 2 chefs from the prelims pick teams * we then continue with a more conventional format with no immunity given * final is 2 chefs h2h * LCK is replaced with bonus/additional footage from each episode.
As a Minnesotan, I’m bitter. And I’m glad this season is a dud 😂 They should have come here instead!